


The Lying Game [ON HIATUS]

by Roxias



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Drama, F/M, Heartbreak, Manipulation, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square Angst, Romance, love square
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-21 18:34:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20698115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roxias/pseuds/Roxias
Summary: “I warned you once already Lila and you didn’t listen. You hurt my friend Marinette and that’s not okay.”Adrien agrees to tell media that he and Lila are in a relationship. In exchange, Lila won’t tell another lie about Marinette.Adrien realizes that the only way to beat a liar, is to beat her in her own game.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first story on AO3 so I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think! This story was originally on Wattpad, but, I will also be posting it here. 
> 
> Enjoy!

"I warned you once Lila but you didn't listen. You hurt my friend Marinette and that’s not okay." Adrien said coldly.

Lila gasped at him, "me? Hurting Marinette? But she's the one—"

She was cut off by him giving her a cold stare. "I don't know how to prove you lied Lila because you're good at it. But you're gonna make up another lie just as convincing, only this time, it's gonna prove Marinette's innocent."

Lila looked away from him, "why would I do that, Adrien?"

"Because we're friends, right?"

Lila looked back at his limo to see Nathalie nod at her, knowing that she has to do what Adrien says. However, Lila had another idea in mind. "Alright. I'll convince Mr. Damocles that Marinette is innocent."

"Good. Now—"

This time, she cut him off. "But, I have a deal for you too." She smirked. "If you agree to go out with me and tell the media about our relationship, I promise I'll never tell a single lie about Marinette." 

Adrien's eyes widened at her as he thought about it for awhile. If he did this, then Marinette wouldn't have to get hurt from Lila's lies anymore. He furrowed his eyebrows as he gripped onto the handles of the chair, "fine. But, if you ever hurt Marinette, I'm calling this off and telling the media."

"Deal." Lila smirked as she stuck out her hand to him, "shall we get on with the photoshoot then... boyfriend?"

Adrien felt chills run down his spine. He sighed and knew that he was doing this for Marinette. She was important to him and he wanted to make sure that nothing ever happened to her.

He took her hand and they went on with the photoshoot together striking poses that the photographer asked them to do. After awhile, Alec came with the TV crew to interview Adrien.

Lila looked over at him and gave a devious smile. Adrien glared at her and sighed as he sat down in a chair with Alec to conduct the interview.

"So, Adrien, tell me about today's photoshoot with the girl your doing? Is there something your fans should know about?" Alec smiled and raised his eyebrows at him.

Adrien sighed as he put on his best fake smile ever for TV. "Guess I can't hide anything from you, Alec." He then looked over at the camera. "The photoshoot I did today was with Lila Rossi, who is also my girlfriend."

"Wow! You heard here folks! Adrien Agreste is finally taken!" Alec beamed with excitement. "Congratulations to you both."

Lila walked into the interview and sat down beside Adrien as he took her hand in his and placed a kiss upon it. Lila smiled as they continued on with their interview explaining how they got together.

***

Marinette sat in her room watching the interview in shock. Lila... and Adrien were.. together? No, Adrien knew Lila was a liar, he wouldn't have dated her for no reason, right?

"Do you think... Adrien was blackmailed into this?" Marinette asked Tikki.

"There's only one way to find out, Marinette." Tikki said. Marinette looked over at her Kwami knowing exactly what she had in mind. She'd have to ask Adrien herself.

"You're right, Tikki." Marinette said. The only problem right now is how can she talk to Adrien when she was expelled from school. She sighed as she laid her head down on her desk.

Just then, she heard a knock on her trapdoor. "Marinette?" It was her Mom.

"Yes, mom?" She answered.

"Principal Damocles just called and he scheduled a meeting tomorrow morning with Lila." She said.

"Again?" Marinette groaned. What could that liar be up to this time? Probably came up with a new lie to make sure she doesn't get into any other school. She sighed as she went over to her bed to lie down.

Marinette thought about the events that happened today. Lila was able to manipulate people into thinking that Marinette stole the test answers, pushed her down the stairs, and even stole her grandmother's necklace. She almost akumatized too and she couldn't believe that.

No one believed her. Her best friend hardly believed her and her parents too. Everything was falling apart. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before breathing out. Even negative thoughts can get her akumatized and she couldn't risk that.

She decided to get some sleep for what was in store tomorrow.

***

"—and because of this disease, I can't help but say the things I said. I'm so sorry, Marinette." Lila apologized.

Her parents and Mr. Damocles cried as Lila told her "tragic" story about this horrible disease that makes her say things that's out of her control.

"Thank you, Lila." Mr. Damocles sniffled. "Marinette, you are welcomed back into this school." And with that, both students were excused while Mr. Damocles discussed things over with Marinette's parents.

"I don't know what came over you back there but it's nice to see that you can come to your senses... sometimes." Marinette said.

"It's like you said, things aren't always as they appear to be." Lila smirked as she walked away.

Marinette rolled her eyes at her and walked down the stairs to go home.

"Marinette!" A familiar voice called out to her.

She turned around to see Adrien and smiled. "Hey, Adrien."

"Are you okay? How have you been doing?" He asked her.

Marinette smiled with a blush on her face. She was happy to know that Adrien was worried about her. "You're fine. I mean.. fine. Just fine. I'll be returning to school tomorrow." She smiled in embarrassment hoping Adrien didn't hear her.

Adrien smiled, "I'm glad to hear that."

Ugh, why did he have to be so sweet? Marinette thought. She then remembered about yesterday's interview then looked up at Adrien. "Congratulations." She said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Adrien looked at her confused but realized what she meant. "Oh, you saw that interview?"

Marinette nodded her head at him. It's not or never, Marinette. Go on and ask him!

"Yeah, I've been wanting to keep it a secret for awhile but.. I guess you can't really keep a secret when you're a model." Adrien chuckled. "Lila's just.. really sweet and beautiful."

Marinette's eyes widened at him. No... He knew Lila was a liar and yet he.. he still chose to date her? No, maybe this is part of the blackmail. Without thinking, Marinette put her hands on his shoulders.

"Adrien, please, tell me that you're okay. You KNOW that she's a liar, don't you?"

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows at her. He averted her gaze and sighed as he took her hands off his shoulders. "I was wrong about her."

"Adrien.." Marinette said sadly. Her hands dropped and she turned away from him, not wanting to cry in front of him. She needed to calm down. She couldn't be akumatized. She took deep breaths as she walked away from Adrien trying her best to calm down.

"Hey, cute face." She heard Lila call.

It hurt to hear her call him that. He could hear Adrien calling her beautiful and just simply complimenting Lila the way she wanted him to compliment her. Everyone smiled at them adoringly, commenting on how they made a cute couple.

Marinette ran out the school not wanting to hear any of it anymore. She finally got home and made her way up to her room as she took deep breaths to calm herself down. Tikki came out to see Marinette staring at the pictures of Adrien on her wall sadly.

"I lost Adrien. I didn't think I could lose Adrien. He... I thought that.." Marinette said as tears formed in the corner of her eyes.

"Marinette, please don't lose hope." Tikki said, trying to cheer her up.

"But, Adrien.."

"You can't let this get in the way of your emotions. You have bigger things to worry about like Hawkmoth. If you were akumatized, all of Paris would be in danger."

Marinette took a deep breath and smiled lightly at her Kwami. "You're right, Tikki. The people of Paris need Ladybug."

***

Adrien turned to the school entrance where he last saw Marinette. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked over at Lila who was laughing with a bunch of other students.

"Lets be clear, Adrien. That if Marinette ever found out about this, she can start looking for a new place to live."

Adrien clenched his fists angrily thinking about what she said yesterday. He didn't think she'd even go that far to get Marinette and her family kicked out of her home. He couldn't let that happen. But, he saw how much he hurt Marinette earlier. How much she wanted to cry but didn't.

He was the only one that knew Lila was a liar. He was the only one that Marinette knew she could trust. But now? That all fell apart.

But, he knew that this was all for Marinette. He was doing it for her safety. That's when he had an idea. If he couldn't talk to her as Adrien, then he'd talk to her as Chat Noir.


	2. 2. A visit from Chat Noir

Marinette sat on her balcony as she drew random sketches and tore the paper out of her book to throw them onto the floor. She had been doing this for quite awhile now. She sighed as she put her sketchbook down and walked up to the railing and stared at Eiffel Tower.

She took a deep breath and and enjoyed the chill breeze that blew against her.

"Marinette?" A voice interrupted which made her jump up in surprise.

She turned around to see Chat Noir sitting on her railing. She sighed in relief and smiled at the feline heroine. She was confused as to why he was here. Did he plan something with Ladybug again and she didn't know? No, Chat Noir knew she was in love with someone else.

"Um, what are you doing here?" Marinette asked. "Was there an akuma?" She always wanted to make sure that there wasn't any trouble in Paris.

Chat Noir shook his head at her. Actually, he himself couldn't exactly answer that question. What was he supposed to say? That he came here to tell her that Adrien and Lila are fake dating so Adrien could protect her? He couldn't even bring himself to say that without revealing his secret identity.

"I was just.. feeling a little lonely tonight and I saw you here." He said.

"Oh, you too, huh?" She said sadly as she looked away from him to look back at the Eiffel Tower. It felt like that night all over again. Chat Noir furrowed his eyebrows at the bluenette as he went and sat on the railing beside her.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

She sighed, "it's.. kind of complicated."

Chat Noir smiled lightly at her, "you can tell me anything."

Marinette wasn't too sure about that. She knew that he was her partner and she could trust him. But, with her personal life? Her personal problems? He didn't know whether she could trust him with that. "I.. I don't know if I can tell you." She said.

"I won't say a word to anyone. Cat's honor." He said as he placed a hand over his chest and raised the other in the air.

Marinette thought that maybe she could trust him. He was her partner after all. Marinette sighed as she smiled at him. "Okay. I guess I can trust you."

"You guess? Ouch, that hurts purrincess." He said as he placed a hand over his chest and pretended to be hurt.

Marinette chuckled at him as she sat down on her lounge chair. She spotted Tikki at her trapped door and signaled that everything was okay. Tikki nodded her head at her and stayed down in Marinette's room. Chat Noir went and sat beside her.

"I feel like no one really believes me anymore." She said.

"Why's that?" He asked, even if he did know the reason.

"Remember Lila? Well, she planted test answers in my bag, accused me of pushing her down the stairs and stealing her Grandmother's necklace, which resulted in me getting expelled from school." She explained. "She lied again but this time to get me back in school."

"That's a good thing, right?" Chat asked.

"Well..." She said. She didn't know whether she could tell Chat Noir this. About her crush. She sighed and looked over at him. He smiled at her, his smile felt so familiar. Has she seen him around in his civilian form? Who really knows?

She bit her lip then sighed, "let's just say someone I trusted is now with Lila."

Chat Noir's eyes widened at her. She _was _hurt by it. Chat Noir furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at the ground sadly. "I'm so sorry."

Marinette was a bit confused. "Um.. no, there's no need. He's happy with her so I should be happy too."

Chat Noir looked over at her, "what if he's not happy?"

"I really don't know. But, he really did look happy in school. The way he was complimenting her and smiling at her." She said, her voice cracking a bit. "I just hope he really is happy."

"Why's that?" Chat Noir asked, curious to see what she had to say about his alter ego.

"Because Adrien is really special to me. He's more than just some rich model. He's a great friend and I want him to be happy." She smiled lightly.

If it wasn't for the lighting, Marinette would've seen how red Chat Noir was. He didn't think that he was that special to someone. That someone saw him more than just a rich model. He didn't think that all someone could ever want for him was to be happy.

He wanted to cry and hug her but he couldn't. It'd make things weird and she'd get suspicious. He decided to just smile at her. "He's really lucky to have a friend like you."

Marinette smiled at him. "Thank you, Chat Noir."

He looked at the time on his Cat phone and realized it was getting late. He got up from where he was sitting and bowed at Marinette which earned a laugh. "It was nice talking with you Purrincess. We should make this a thing." He smiled as he raised his eyebrows at her.

Marinette chuckled at him, "sure Chat Noir. I think I'd like that."

Chat Noir smiled as he took her hand in his and placed a small kiss atop of it. "Good night, Marinette." And with that, he left.

Once he was gone, Tikki flew out from Marinette's room up to the balcony. "Who knew Chat Noir was such a good listener?" Tikki commented.

Marinette smiled. "I might have had him all wrong."

"Are you doing the same thing tomorrow?" Tikki asked.

"Well, who knows? Let's just hope there's no akumas." Marinette said as she went back into her room to sleep.


	3. It’s a cat thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just letting you know. I don’t HATE Alya. Okay? I love her a lot and she has become one of my favorite characters. 
> 
> Enjoy :) I appreciate any kind of feedback!

Today Marinette would be going back to school. She thought about the events of yesterday and sighed. She barely had any sleep tonight because of it.

Lila has gotten her expelled, got some of the people she cared about to distrust her, and claimed Adrien all in one day. But, that didn't stop her from being Ladybug. She knew that letting her emotions get in the way was pointless because there would be no justice from getting revenge — especially when you're akumatized.

She decided to put yesterday's troubles behind her. She was definitely going to keep her emotions in tact and prepare for whatever lie Lila would have for her. With that, she grabbed her school bag and was out her house and on her way to school.

Just as she reached the entrance of the school, she heard a voice call out to her.

"Marinette!" She knew who that voice belonged to and tried her best to keep her composure. She was definitely not going to break down in front of him after coming back to school.

"Hi, Adrien." She greeted with a fake smile.

"It's great to have you back in school again." He smiled at her.

Oh, how she wanted to swoon at his kindness. However, she stopped herself from thinking about her huge crush on him. He had a girlfriend now who just so happened to be her enemy.

"It's great to be back." She said.

"So, have you—" Before he could say anything else, he was cut off by a certain brunette who had linked their arms together.

"Hey cutie." Lila smiled. She shot a glance at Marinette and smirked as if saying she had won.

Marinette shot glares at her but remembered that she would not let her emotions get in the way.

You're stronger than this. You are Ladybug.

She took deep breaths to calm herself down as she looked up at Adrien. "Nice seeing you Adrien." She said as she turned on her heel and left for class.

Adrien watched as the midnight haired girl walked away to class and out of view. He shot a glare at Lila and pulled his arm away from her as he walked away. Lila walked up to him and stopped him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lila asked angrily.

"I agreed to go out with you at the cost that you wouldn't tell another lie about Marinette. You didn't say anything about me having to hold your hand or anything." He said.

"Well, unless you want Marinette to stay in this school. You'd better make this relationship believable." Lila smirked.

Adrien glared at her then turned his head to look up the stairs to see Marinette. He didn't like the idea of upsetting her with his relationship. She trusted him and now it seems like it's all fallen apart. He sighed. He was doing this for her. 

He looked back at Lila again and stuck out his hand to her. "Let's go." 

Lila smirked as she took his hands in hers. She felt as if she had truly won.

***

Marinette had hoped that coming back to school would be normal like it always was. 

She was wrong. Once she had entered the classroom she noticed that there were some new seating arrangements again. She noticed Alya sitting beside Nino and furrowed her eyebrows hoping that Nino was only there because he was waiting for Adrien. She couldn't be anymore wrong.

"I'm sitting in the back again?" 

"Turns out Lila's tinnitus happened again. So, she has to sit in the front in order to hear the teacher's better." Alya explained. 

"Great.." Marinette mumbled as she walked up the stairs to sit at the desk in the back. She placed her bag down and took out her sketchbook to calm herself down. She looked over at Alya and saw her laughing with Nino about something. She looked down at her sketchbook trying her best to hold back any tears that would come out. She did her breathing exercises once again and felt herself calm down. 

It wasn't long until Adrien and Lila entered the classroom. Lila greeted Alya and Nino with a smile as she sat at the desk in front of them. Adrien stared up at Marinette sitting at the desk in the back again. She had a sad lonely look on her face and he wanted to go up there, sit beside her, and tell her she wasn't truly alone. 

However, he didn't want her getting expelled from school again. Lila was a good manipulator, she knew how to tell her lies to the point people believed them. Yesterday's events was proof enough that everyone would take her side instead of their "everyday Ladybug."

Adrien sighed as he sat down next to Lila. 

The whole class knew about their relationship and most of them were happy for the new couple. Chloe knew she couldn't do anything but just be angry. Marinette paid no attention to her classmates talking about the couple. Instead, she focused on finishing a sketch for a new design. She found it hard to continue her work when she heard Alya laughing with Lila about something. She felt herself grip onto her pencil angrily. She did her breathing exercises once again and placed her pencil down as she closed her eyes and tried to block them out. 

After awhile, Ms. Bustier entered the classroom and everyone had quiet down. Marinette sighed in relief hoping it would stay like this. 

CRASH!

"I am Anarchy! Why follow the laws when you can break them!" The akuma shouted as he zapped people and made them wreak havoc among Paris by breaking any law. 

Well, this was better than nothing. 

***

Marinette went straight home after school without saying a word to anyone. Not Alya, not Adrien, nobody. She went home and made her way upstairs to her room as she fell onto her bed. Tikki flew out of her purse and sat beside the girl. 

"Marinette..." The kwami said with concern in her voice.

Marinette sighed, "I'm sorry, Tikki. It's just so hard to control my emotions when-" Before she could say anything else, she heard something land on her balcony. She looked over at Tikki and signaled for her to hide. Marinette opened the trap door to her balcony and looked around and saw Chat Noir sitting on her lounge chair. He smiled and waved at her and she smiled in return.

She looked down at Tikki and signaled that everything was okay as she got up onto the rooftop to sit beside Chat Noir on her lounge chair. 

"Are you patrolling again?" She asked him.

"Well, no, I guess it's more of.. a cat thing." He smiled cheekily.

Marinette chuckled at him, "are you hungry? I can get you something to eat." 

Chat Noir smiled at her happily. If there's one thing he loved, it was eating food he wasn't allowed to eat at home. "Really? That'd be great." He didn't eat dinner either so he was practically starving at this point.

"Alright, what would you like to eat?" She asked.

"Surprise me, purrincess." He said as he gave her a cheeky smile.

Marinette rolled her eyes at him and smiled as she went back down to her room and started making her way into the kitchen. She took some leftover cookies and macaroons her Papa made this morning and a slice of cake too. She then made her way up to her room and up to the balcony again. She placed the tray of cookies and macaroons on the small table along with the slice of cake.

Chat Noir felt like he was in heaven. His father and Nathalie would forbid him from eating these types of foods because of an eating regime he had to follow for his modeling.

“Oh, I forgot to get you a drink. I’ll be right back.” She said as left once again to retrieve a drink for the feline heroine.

Chat Noir looked over at the food and was tempted to grab the tray and eat the whole thing right there and now. They looked really good and he was very hungry. But, he had to wait for Marinette before he could start eating anything.

After a few minutes, Marinette came back to her balcony with a pitcher of juice and two glass cups. “Sorry, I took awhile. My Papa was just—“ she paused to stare at Chat Noir, the tray in his lap, holding two cookies while devouring one. “—explaining.. something to me.” She finished.

Chat Noir put down the cookies he was holding back on the tray and placed the tray back on the table. “I’m sorry. They just looked really good and I really was hungry. So, I just wanted to eat some while you were downstairs but I guess my stomach... couldn’t handle it.” He said in shame.

Marinette laughed at the black suited hero as she placed the pitcher and glasses down on the table and sat beside him again on the lounge chair. “You didn’t have to wait for me. I brought those for you.”

He smiled at her, “thank you purrincess.”

Marinette rolled her eyes at her partner. Even when she was in her civilian form, he was still such a flirty cat. This time, she didn’t even mind anymore. She simply brushed off what he said about her as friendly compliments.

“So, how was school today? Anything exciting happen?” Chat Noir asked. He knew the answer already but he thought that it’d help to let her get whatever’s bothering her off her chest.

She sighed as she took an intake of breath, “well, nothing really exciting happened. Except for the fact that I’m sitting at the back of class... again. But, it doesn’t hurt more than the fact my best friend is totally fine with it.” She said with a hint of pain in her voice.

Chat looked at her with sympathy. “What do you mean?”

She tried her best not to cry, she told herself she’d never ever cry in front of her partner even in her civilian form. She took a deep breath, “she laughed with Lila as if nothing was even wrong in the class. As if, I wasn’t even there. I needed her more than anything and she doesn’t even believe in the fact that Lila is a liar.”

Chat could see how hurt she was by all of this. Even when Lila wasn’t lying about Marinette anymore, shewas still causing pain for her.

Without even thinking, Chat embraced her into a hug and pulled her close. He didn’t want to let go. “I’m sorry, Marinette.” He said softly as he pulled away from her to look into her bluebell eyes. “You don’t have to feel alone, I’ll always be here.” He smiled as he embraced her again.

Marinette was surprised at the sudden action but placed her arms around him. His arms felt like home and she felt safe with him. She then felt her eyes closing slowly and before she knew it, she was fast asleep in his arms.

Chat Noir looked down at the girl and remembered when they both road the train to London. He smiled at the memory of him and Marinette falling asleep on each other. He slowly carried her into his arms and lifted her up as he brought her down to her bed. He laid her down on the and placed the covers over her.

Chat Noir smiled at her as he placed a small kiss on her forehead. “Sweet dreams, purrincess.” He whispered as he made his way up to the balcony again and left for home.


	4. 4. Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, just wanted you to know that I read all your comments and I appreciate them. The good and the bad ones. :) 
> 
> Also, thanks to some of you for the tips! I am new to AO3 and it’s a lot different from Wattpad. I really appreciate the help. 
> 
> I’m glad that some of you are enjoying the story too! As for the ones who aren’t, I’m very sorry that you’re disappointed on how this is turning out.
> 
> Just wanted to clarify that this IS an Adrienette story. :) 
> 
> Again, I appreciate all comments good/bad and tips and I’m glad you are enjoying this story just as much as I like writing it!

Marinette woke up from her sleep and smiled happily. Last night was probably one of the best sleeps she’s ever had. Should she thank Chat Noir for that? No, maybe it was the fact she was just really tired.

She looked over at her clock and realized that she’d be late for school... again! She rushed out of bed and started preparing all her stuff. She then took a quick shower, put on her usual wear, and ran off to school.

She made it to school just as the bell rang. She ran into class and hurried up to her desk in the back ignoring the stares she got from some of her classmates. She let out a sigh of relief. She made it in time just before Ms. Bustier came into class.

She then heard her stomach grumble and she blushed in embarrassment. She looked around hoping that no one else heard that and thankfully, no one else did.

“Hey, Marinette.”

Her eyes widened to see Adrien waving at her with a smile on his face. She gave him a small smile and looked turned away to look out the window. She was surprised when she felt him sit next to her on the desk.

“Marinette, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Um, is it really a good time? Shouldn’t you get back to your seat before Lila.. I don’t know, gets angry?”

“She’s coming a bit late.”

Marinette looked over at the front desk and noticed that the brunette really was coming late. She then looked over at the blonde model who was waited for her to say something.

“Okay.”

Adrien sighed and gave her a smile. “Marinette, I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry.”

Marinette looked at him confused. “For what?”

“For Lila and everything.” He said with a frown upon his face. “I just want you to know that I really care about you and that you’re someone very important to me and I hope you’ll still be my friend.” He said.

Marinette gave him a soft smile. Adrien’s friendship meant a lot to her and even if he did have a girlfriend, she would still be there for him no matter what. “Of course we’re still friends Adrien.”

Adrien smiled happily at her, “thank you, Marinette.” He said as he got up from her desk. He looked at her again and pulled her close to him to whisper something in her ear. Marinette blushed as Adrien smiled at her and went back to his seat.

Marinette smiled and thought that maybe everything was finally falling back into place.

***

It was lunch time. Most of the class had left to the cafeteria except for Marinette. After putting her stuff away into her bag, she got up from her desk and ended up bumping into someone.

“Sorry— Alya?” Marinette was surprised to see her best friend standing in front of her with a sad look on her face.

“Marinette...” She said as she hugged her. “Girl, I’m so sorry I made you feel left out and alone in the back. I’m such horrible best friend.”

Marinette smiled softly at her. Even if Alya didn’t believe her about Lila, Marinette still loved her best friend. After all, she did manage to get Adrien and her to sit together on the train to London. She even took a picture of the two of them sleeping. But, that was only one of the reasons Marinette loved her best friend.

“No, you’re not. Don’t worry about me sitting in the back because I’ve gotten pretty comfortable sitting back there.” Marinette chuckled.

“Can I start sitting next to you then? Ugh, I can’t even tell my problems to Nino because he hardly understands what I’m saying!” Alya exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration.

Marinette let out a laugh as she linked arms with Alya. “Sure. Can we go eat lunch now? I didn’t eat anything at all this morning and I’m starving.”

“Your place?” Alya winked.

“You know it.” Marinette smiled as the two best friends walked out of class together.

***

Adrien sat in silence trying his best to enjoy his lunch. He felt a hand touch his and he pulled it away.

Lila glared at him.

“I’m trying to enjoy my lunch in peace.” Adrien always wanted company over to have lunch with him but not this kind of company. Ironically, he rather have lunch alone than have it with Lila.

He didn’t feel hungry anymore and got up from his seat to grab his bag and head back to school with Lila following behind him. How did his father even agree to this? He sighed as he opened the car door for her and let her in before going in as well.

The whole ride to school, Adrien had not said a word to Lila. Once they got out the car, people looked over at them and smiled. Lila smiled as she linked arms with Adrien and walked towards the entrance of the school. Adrien hated the attention but Lila loved it.

Once they were out of sight from people, he pulled his arm away from her. “You might like the attention Lila, but I don’t.” He said in a harsh tone as he walked to his next class.

Lila glared at the blonde model walking away from her.

***

Once Adrien got to class, he noticed Nino sitting all alone. Adrien gave him a questioning stare wondering where Alya was. Nino smiled as he pointed to the back where Alya was sitting with Marinette chatting about something and laughing with one another. 

Adrien smiled at the two and felt as if everything were finally back to normal. Well... maybe not everything.


	5. Sneaky Cat

The bell had rang signaling that it was the end of school. All the students made their way out of class to hurry on home. Marinette walked out with Alya beside her trying her best to ignore Lila laughing with other students about a new lie she told them. Marinette sighed in relief as she made her way out the school doors only to be greeted with a familiar face.

"Hey, Marinette." It was Luka. He gave her a soft smile as he waved at her. 

Marinette smiled at him, "Luka. What are you doing here?"

"Juleka and I were just about to go to one of Mom's gigs at the Eiffel Tower." He explained. "Would you like to join us?"

“Sure, I’d love to. Alya?” She asked her best friend. 

“I’d love to go too but thing is, I have to work on my new blog.” Alya said.

”But, I thought—“ Before Marinette could say anything else, Alya pulled her to the side. 

“Girl, this is your chance to get with Luka since Adrien is already taken!” Alya winked.

”W-What!? Alya, no, that’s just—“

”Come on! It’s obvious Luka is totally into you.” Alya smiled as he gestured towards Luka who was looking over at them with a smile. 

“Who’s totally into who?” A voice asked which made Marinette jump up in surprise. She turned around to see Adrien smiling at them. She looked back and forth from Luka and Adrien. If she was Ladybug right now, she’d yo-yo herself out of there. But sadly, she wasn’t. 

“No one! Nothing!” She said defensively.

Adrien raised an eyebrow at her with a confused look on his face. 

“Hey, Adrien.” Luka greeted. 

“Hey.” Adrien smiled.

”We were just heading to one of my mom’s gigs, you wanna join?” He asked. 

Marinette was relieved when she heard that Adrien couldn’t make it due to the fact his father wanted him home straight after school after the whole London incident. At the same time, she would’ve enjoyed his company there too. 

“Alright. Ready to go, Marinette?” Luka asked. 

Marinette nodded her head at him. “See you guys later.” She said as she walked away with Luka, Juleka, and Rose. 

“So, what were you and Marinette talking about?” Adrien asked. 

“Nothing much. Just some guy stuff.” Alya said.

”Did you and Nino—?”

”No! We didn’t.” Alya laughed at the blonde’s assumption. “It’s about Luka.”

”What about Luka?” Adrien, now very curious of the conversation the two best friends were having. 

“Isn’t it obvious? He’s totally into Marinette. I noticed since the day she first met him.” Alya explained as she took out her phone. “I’ll just send a text to Rose and Juleka to help hook those two up.” 

Adrien was silent. For some reason, he felt his own heart drop. Why was that? Why did it bother him so much that Luka liked Marinette? He didn’t know why. 

“Adrien, you alright?” Alya asked.

”Huh? Oh, uh... yeah, I’m fine. I’ll see you later, Alya.” Adrien said as he walked towards his car.

Alya eyed the blonde model suspiciously. There was something up with him and she was definitely going to find out. After all, she was a reporter. 

***

Once Adrien got home he went straight up to his room and locked his door. He threw his bag down on his desk as he sat down on his office chair thinking about what Alya said. 

Plagg flew out of Adrien’s shirt pocket and grabbed a piece of camembert from the cheese wheel that Adrien always kept around for him. He smiled as he devoured the cheese in one bite. He noticed Adrien’s distraught and smirked. 

“Someone’s jealous.” Plagg smirked.

”Me? Jealous? I’m not jealous!” Adrien said defensively.

”Then why do you look so bothered by what that Alya girl said?” Plagg said as he took another cheese and began eating it.

”Because... I just don’t want Marinette getting hurt that’s all.” He said.

”Don’t you think that Lila girl hurt her enough?” Plagg retorted.

”Not that kind of hurt.” He said as he got up and paced around his room. “I should keep an eye on them.”

Plagg’s eyes widened as he looked over at his owner, “wait, what—“

”Plagg, claws out!” Adrien said as Plagg got sucked into the ring and transformed Adrien into his alter ego — Chat Noir. 

After transforming, he had turned off his lights to make it seem like he was asleep and exited out his window to look for Marinette. 


	6. Curiosity killed the cat... or gave it an idea at least

* * *

Chat Noir jumped from building to building heading to Ms. Couffaine's gig which was located near the Pont Des Arts. He stopped on a building and saw lots of people watching the gig. Ms. Couffaine was performing with new musicians and some old ones. There were so many people, it was hard to spot Marinette in the crowd even with his night vision. After what seemed like an endless search, he spotted the midnight haired girl at the other side of the Pont Des Arts. He stealthily made his way towards her trying his best not to be seen by her or attract any attention from the crowd. 

He decided to go from under the bridge with his baton. If not for the loud noise and the dark of the night, he would've been caught. Luckily, no one had noticed him, not even the people on Ms. Couffaine's boat. He stopped when he heard a familiar voice followed by a laugh. "That's really funny, Luka." 

Chat Noir carefully made his way up the bridge and peeked out from the sides to listen in on the conversation. Both Marinette and Luka were sitting down enjoying some ice cream away from the huge crowd. According to Marinette, too many people were bumping into her and it was hard to watch the gig when she was too short to even see anything. But, Luka had offered to carry her up on his shoulders for her to watch the gig. To Chat Noir's relief, Marinette refused to let him do so. 

"So, how have you been ever since... you know." Luka asked.

_Since what? _Chat Noir thought.

"I've been doing okay. I mean... aside from all the Lila stuff, I've been doing great." Marinette smiled. She then noticed something out of the corner of her eye but it could just be her imagination. But it wasn't. She noticed cat ears and blonde hair peeking out from under the bridge.

_Was there an akuma?_ Marinette thought as she looked around to find any akumatized victims. Unfortunately, there was no one here that was akumatized. This place was filled with lots of happy emotions that she doubt anyone could become akumatized here. She then thought of something else. _Was Chat Noir spying on her? _She watched closely while also trying to maintain a conversation with Luka. The last thing she wanted was for Luka to freak out over why Chat Noir was spying on the both of them which could lead him into thinking that something is going on between them. 

She continued her conversation with Luka to see if he really was spying on her. 

"So, have you heard about Chat Noir lately?" Marinette asked. She saw the way his ears twitched at the sound of his name and smirked. _Got you, sneaky cat._

"No, what about Chat Noir?" Luka asked.

Marinette smirked as she kept an eye on the cat heroine. Now that she knew he was listening, she decided to play with him a bit. She sighed, “oh, I don’t know. I hear he’s seeing some girl.” 

Chat Noir’s eyes widened. There’s no way she’d tell Luka about their night encounters, would she? That was a secret between them. He listened in closely to hear more.

”You mean Ladybug, right?” Luka said.

Marinette shook her head at him, “nope! She’s actually a civilian.”

Chat Noir’s heart was pounding. Was Marinette really about to tell Luka everything? Wait, why was he worried though? There was nothing serious between them. But of course, people still made assumptions.

”No way.” Luka said in shock. “Who’s the girl?” 

Marinette smirked when she saw his cat ears flickering. She could tell he was freaking out right now. She decided he had learned his lesson and looked back at Luka. “No idea.”

”Ah well... it’s his personal life.” Luka said standing up. “I’m gonna check up on mom. Care to join?” 

“I’d love to. But, my parents are coming to pick me up soon.” Marinette smiled.

”Alright. I’ll see you later then.” Luka smiled. Before he left, he said one last thing to her. “I hope everything works out with you, Marinette.” 

Marinette smiled softly at him, “thank you, Luka.” 

Luka then walked away to go check up on his mom leaving Marinette alone. Well, not entirely alone. Marinette looked over at the cat hero that hid behind the rails of the bridge. She rolled her eyes at him as she tugged on one of his ears.

”Ow!” He shouted as he looked behind him to see Marinette looking at him with an eyebrow raised and her arms crossed. 

“Uh.. um.. Good evening purrincess?” He chuckled in embarrassment.

”I hope you learned your lesson about eavesdropping on people.” She said as she began walking away. 

Chat Noir’s eyes widened as he hopped over the railing and chased after her. Luckily, there was no one around to notice them. “Wait! You knew I was there?” He asked in shock.

”I noticed your ears.” She said pointing at his cat ears. 

He chuckled and scratched his head in embarrassment. She still had her arms crossed at him still wondering why he was spying on her in the first place. 

“I’m sorry for spying on you. I just uh.. didn’t want you to get hurt.” He said and that was the truth.

Marinette sighed as he gave her a soft smile. “Thanks for worrying about me but my friend Luka is a really nice guy.”

Chat Noir was not going to argue with that. He met Luka and fought beside him so he knew that Luka was definitely a nice guy. “Yeah, sorry purrincess.” 

Marinette smiled at him as she offered to make some cookies and macaroons for him when she got home. 

“Oh, so we’re doing our nightly thing again?” He smirked. 

“I could just go straight home and sleep.” She said as she turned to walk away from him. He stopped her by grabbing her arm and lifting her up bridal style. Marinette blushed at the sudden action.

“Actually, I think cookies and macaroons sound great.” He said as he started jumping from building to building until finally reaching her rooftop. He set her down as she went downstairs to fetch the food she promised him. 

After awhile, she came back up with a tray filled with cookies and macaroons. She placed them on the table and sat beside him on the lounge chair. He smiled as he took a cookie and bit into it. No one makes cookies better than Marinette that’s for sure.

”I’m just curious though...” He said with his mouth full of cookies. 

“I hope you know curiosity killed the cat.” Marinette stated. 

He chuckled at her, “I’ll take my chances.”

Marinette smiled at him, “alright. What’s your question then?” 

“Were you really about to tell Luka? You know, about us and our night encounters?” 

Marinette shook her head at him, “of course not. I was just playing around with you and trying to teach you a lesson about eavesdropping.”

”Playing around...” He said and started thinking about something. 

“I wasn’t trying to play with your feelings or anything. I hope—“ Before she could finish her sentence, Chat Noir jumped to his feet with a smile on is face. 

“That’s it!” He then turned to Marinette and smiled at her. “Thank you purrincess.” 

“For?” She asked, confused about what was going on. 

He took her hand in his and kiss the back of her hand. “You’ll see soon.” And with that, he took off leaving a confused Marinette.

***

Once he was home, he detransformed and started doing some research. Plagg looked at his owner curiously with cheese in his hand.

”What are you up to?” He asked.

”I just got a plan to get me out of this relationship and keep Marinette safe from Lila.” Adrien smiled.

”How are you going to do that?”

”By playing along with her game.” Adrien smirked. 


	7. Pushed a little too far

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! An update. This chapter took me awhile and was literally sitting in my drafts but I finally managed to get it out. I had to change up Chapter 5 because in the beginning because this chapter wouldn't make sense. I had typed about the students going home to enjoy the weekend and realized that I added school to this chapter. So, I changed it up to make sense! Also adding in a little angst because what the heck?? I love angst.

Adrien woke up with a very tired expression on his face. He had stayed up all night planning to get out of his relationship and keeping Marinette safe. He got up tiredly and placed a hand on the back of his neck. He’s had tired mornings as a hero but this was by far the most tired he’s ever been. 

He got up and got into the shower. The cold water that poured down his back was enough to wake him up a bit. He got out of the shower and changed into a simple white t-shirt covered by a black polo. He wore khaki jeans along with some black converse. He then took one last look in the mirror to make sure he was awake enough to convince Nathalie not to make him stay home. 

He sighed as he grabbed his bag and headed out his room to make his way to school. 

***

Once his driver dropped him off to school, he got down and saw Marinette walking towards the staircase. He smiled as he ran up to her.

”Marinette!”

She turned towards him and smiled, “morning, Adrien.”

Adrien noticed her holding a paper bag. The smell of fresh croissants and cookies had caught his attention. He had them a few times whenever he visited her as Chat Noir so it was no surprise that he even knew what was in the bag. 

Marinette saw his attention on her paper bag and smiled at him as she lifted it up to him and opened it up. “You want some? My papa made these fresh out of the oven.” 

Adrien smiled. Not only did he get to eat her baked goods as Chat Noir but he got to enjoy them in his civilian form. “I’d love some.” Adrien smiled as he grabbed a croissant from the paper bag. “Thanks, Marinette.”

Marinette narrowed her eyes at Adrien. Even if he was a model, he looked like a mess. His hair was tousled and his eyes showed signs of fatigue. “You look like a mess.” 

Adrien looked at her surprised while she turned away from him in embarrassment.

“S-Sorry! I didn’t realize I had said that out loud.” She said. 

“No, it’s okay.” He chuckled. “You’re actually the first person to notice I actually am tired. I really did try to fix myself up but I guess... it didn’t work?”

”Yeah...” She said, letting out a small laugh.

Adrien laughed, “it’s alright. How’d you guess though?”

”As someone who’s late most of the time and slept on the school field trip, I’d know.” Marinette smiled.

They both shared a laugh together and continued talking on their way inside the school. Alya and Nino saw the two walk in together and looked at each other confused. Adrien and Marinette continued talking all the way to class, often moving from one subject to the other. They went inside the classroom to see that it was only the two of them. Adrien went over to his desk and placed his bag down while Marinette went up to her seat in the back. Adrien decided that since it was just the two of them, he'd go up to her and continue talking with her some more.

He saw her jotting down some notes and raised an eyebrow at her. "You know class doesn't start for another 30 minutes, right?"

She rolled her eyes at him and gave him a half smile. "I'm jotting down notes for this dress I'm designing." 

"Ahhh, I see. What do you have so far?" He asked her. 

"Well..." Marinette went on explaining her ideas for the dress. 

Adrien smiled at her as she told her ideas. He listened to everything she said and admired the way she talked about her passion. His rested his chin on his fist as he continued to smile at her while she talked.

"I can't wait to become a fashion designer and... I'm doing it again.. Sorry.." She apologized as she buried her face in her hands to hide her embarrassment. 

"No, no. It's totally fine. There's nothing wrong talking about your dreams Marinette." He reassured her. 

Marinette smiled at him. It was then she realized that she hadn't messed up her words at all when talking to him anymore. She felt much more comfortable talking with him now than before. Was it because he was with Lila? No. Maybe it was because it was better this way. Maybe it was best that her and Adrien remained friends and maybe.. she could finally move on.

"Adrien." A familiar high pitched voice called out. 

Adrien suppressed a groan as he smiled at Marinette. "See you later." He said as he made his way back to his desk to sit next to his so called "girlfriend."

Marinette sighed as she continued to jot down notes for her dress design. The bell had rung and her classmates came piling in one after the other. Alya went up to her seat beside Marinette and nudged her. 

Marinette looked over at Alya with a raised eyebrow. "Yea-"

"Spill the deets. What's with you and Mr. Model?" She asked.

Marinette averted her gaze, "nothing. We're just friends."

"Mhhm." Alya said, narrowing her eyes at her best friend. 

Marinette rolled her eyes and playfully pushed Alya on her shoulder. "Stop. We really are just friends. Where is all this coming from anyway?"

"Nino and I saw you talking this morning and well.. you didn't stutter! Or even freak! Not one bit." She said, a little too loud. Marinette placed a hand over the reporter's mouth. 

"Alya, SH! Everyone's staring." Marinette said in an angry hushed voice.

"Then tell me what's going on." Alya whispered. "Are you trying to steal Adrien away? Marinette, I get you're jealous but-"

"I don't love him anymore! Okay?" She shouted as she slammed her hands down the table a bit too loud that all her classmates turned to look at the two best friends. Alya stared at her in shock while Adrien looked back at Marinette with worry in his eyes. Marinette tried her best to hold back the tears. She was tired. Alya had pushed her too far. Lila was satisfied, she didn't even have to do anything. Marinette shut her eyes as she grabbed her bag and ran out the classroom, ignoring her best friend calling after her.

Instead of going home, she ran into a nearby alleyway and transformed. She then took her yo-yo our and began swinging from building to building until reaching the top of the Eiffel Tower. She looked around to make sure she was alone and detransformed. Tikki sat upon her shoulder and nuzzled the girl’s cheek. 

“Alya pushed me too far, Tikki... She pushed me too far.” She said, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

”Oh, Marinette...” 

***

Marinette didn’t come back to class. Alya figured that she had gone home. She got up for her seat to go and sit with Nino again. He looked over at her and nudged her elbow to make her look at him.

"What happened back there? What was that all about?" Nino asked.

"Just some Adrien drama... She'll get over it." Alya whispered.

Unfortunately, both Adrien and Lila had heard Alya. While Adrien was worried about Marinette, Lila was smiling in triumph. 

Ms. Bustier walked into the class to notice that only Marinette was absent. Alya quickly covered for her stating that Marinette was sick. Ms. Bustier nodded at her as she continued on with her lesson for the day. Adrien hardly paid any attention at all. His mind was filled with Marinette wondering if she was okay. 

_"I don't love him anymore! Okay?" _

Her words echoed at the back of his head. Who didn't she love anymore? Most importantly, why did it bother him so much? Maybe it was the fact that she was hurt and ran out crying? Or the fact that she _loved _someone. There was so many questions bothering him that all he wanted to do was ditch school and find Marinette. He didn't care whether he saw her as Chat Noir or not. He needed to see her and make sure she was okay. She was important to him. He decided that he'd see her as soon as possible.

***

Marinette made her way into the house to be greeted by her parents.

"Marinette? What's wrong, sweetie? Why aren't you in school? Was there another akuma attack?" Sabine asked with concern in her voice.

"No, Mom. I was just... not feeling too good." She lied. God, she hated lying but she didn't want to explain what happened with Alya.

Sabine pressed the back of her hand to her daughter's forehead. "Oh dear, go on upstairs and get some rest. I'll check on you later." 

Marinette smiled, "thank you, Mom." 

Marinette made her way upstairs through her trap door and into her bedroom. She threw down her bag and laid on her bed as she hugged a pillow close to her. Tikki flew out and floated around her owner sensing the pain she felt. Tikki looked over at the girl with concern and went up to her and nuzzled her cheek. She took a deep breath and looked up at her ceiling, she saw the sun shining down from her skylight. She wondered if Chat Noir was somewhere out there right now. She felt like telling everything to Chat right now. Things she couldn't even say to her best friend without being accused of jealousy. She made her way up to the skylight and sat on her lounge chair in hopes that the feline heroine would spot her. 

Tikki watched her owner sit alone on the balcony. As much as she wanted to comfort her, she knew she needed time to think things through. She sighed as she slowly descended back down to the bedroom.

***

The bell rang signaling that it was time for lunch. Adrien hurriedly packed his things to make his way to Marinette's place. Before he could run out the class, Lila had grabbed his arm.

"Adrien, how about we eat lunch together?" She smiled while batting eyelashes at him.

"Sorry, my father has a strict meal plan for me so I'm not allowed to eat at school." He said as he pulled his arm away and walked down the steps leaving an appalled Lila.

Once he exited the school, he saw his bodyguard waiting for him near his car. He walked up to him and smiled nervously. "Could you tell Nathalie that I'll be staying at school for lunch? I have a group project and they REALLY need me." He lied.

Gorilla raised an eyebrow at him before nodding his head and getting back in the car to drive to the Agreste Mansion. Adrien sighed in relief as he made his way to Marinette's. He entered the bakery and was greeted by Sabine. 

"Adrien, it's nice to see you." Sabine smiled.

"Hello, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. Is Marinette here?" He asked politely.

"Oh, sweetie you can just call me Sabine. Marinette is up in her room, would you like me to call her?" She asked.

Adrien shook his head at her and smiled, "that's fine. Is it alright if I go upstairs?"

"Go right on ahead." She smiled.

Adrien thanked her as he made his way up to Marinette's bedroom. He's been in her house twice as himself and Chat Noir, but her place always felt so welcoming. Once he made it to her trapped door, he knocked. "Marinette?"

Tikki jumped at the sound of Adrien knocking and flew up to Marinette. "Marinette! Adrien's here!"

"What!?" Marinette's eyes widened in shock as she made her way down to her bedroom to hear knocking again.

"Marinette? Are you in there?"

It _was _Adrien. She looked around her bedroom with a panicked expression and took down all her pictures of him and hid them in a drawer. 

"Should I come back later?" He asked.

"Um, n-no! Sorry, my room is just a mess." She said as she hid more pictures of him into her drawer. She looked around one last time before going to her trap door and opening it for him. 

"Hey, Marinette." He said as he smiled lightly at her. 

"Hey, what are you doing here?" She asked. 

“Oh, well, I was just worried about you. Seems like you and Alya got into a bad argument?” He asked.

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows and averted her gaze. “Yeah...” She said as she sat down on her chaise. “She accused me of something that’s not entirely true and well... she pushed it too far.” 

Adrien set his bag down and sat next to her. “What did she accuse you of?” 

Marinette’s eyes widened and she hesitated. What could she say? That Alya was accusing her of being jealous because Lila was dating the love of her life? He’d definitely never talk to her again. She decided to keep it vague. 

“Um... just.. being jealous of someone.” _Way to keep it vague... Everyone knows you don’t like Lila. _She thought to herself.

“Why would you be jealous of Lila? She lies with every breath.” He told her.

”Exactly! But Alya doesn’t believe me and she thinks I’m jealous just because y—“ She stopped herself from finishing that sentence. “Never mind.” 

“What is it?” He asked her. 

“Don’t worry about it, Adrien.” She smiled lightly.

”Marinette...” He said softly as he placed a hand over hers, making her blush. “You can tell me anything. You can trust me.” He smiled.

She averted her eyes and tried to get out of the conversation. She needed an excuse. Anything. She then looked over at the time and saw that it was almost time for their next class. She got up quick. “Lunch is almost over. You should probably head back to class. I’m pretty busy with this new design. See you tomorrow?” 

“I can spare a few minutes—“

”Great! See you tomorrow, Adrien. Thanks for checking up on me.” She smiled as she grabbed his bag, handed it to him and gestured him to leave. 

“Oh, um... Okay.” He said as he opened up the trap door and turned to look at her again. “See you tomorrow, Marinette.” He closed the trapped door and started making his way out of the bakery and back to school. 

Plagg flew out of his shirt with camembert in his hands and smirk at him. “That went well.” 

“She won’t talk to me about what happened.”

“Meh, that’s too bad.” Plagg said as he chewed on the putrid cheese. 

“Guess I’ll just have to see her tonight as Chat Noir.” He said smirking over at Plagg.

”But I hate transforming!” Plagg screamed. 


	8. Please stay

Adrien sat in class thinking about Marinette again. Ever since he visited her at her house, she’s all he could think about. One thing bothered him and it was the fact she didn’t trust him enough to tell him what happened with Alya. Did she really not trust him enough? Was he not a good friend? The though of not being a good friend to Marinette pained him and he hated to think that she didn’t trust him with her problems. 

“Mr. Agreste, are you paying attention?” Ms. Mendeleiev scolded.

“Huh? Oh, sorry.” He said in embarrassment.

”Try to pay attention or the next time I’ll have you sent to the Principals office.” 

He gulped, “yes, Ms. Mendeleiev.” 

He sighed. _Get it together, Adrien. Just a few more minutes and you’re out of here. _

Ms. Mendeleiev continued on with her lesson and this time Adrien paid attention. He was not going to risk getting in trouble with his father and being told reasons why he shouldn't be in a public school. He felt Lila drawing circles on his arm with her finger and shrugged it off. He shot her a glare then looked back at Ms. Mendeleiev. Lila had other ways of trying to show her 'affection' by simply touching her elbow with his or moving her chair a bit closer to his. Adrien had felt so uncomfortable to the point he just wanted to disappear. 

The bell rang and Adrien couldn't be more thankful. He waited for everyone to leave class until it was just him and Lila. They both walked out Ms. Mendeleiev's class and stood outside her door. 

"You need to stop." He told her.

"Stop what?" She asked.

"Touching me in class. You're making me uncomfortable." He told her.

"Well, we _are _a couple." She smiled.

Adrien felt sick to his stomach hearing that word. "We are not a real couple. Besides, I don't have to do any of those things with you." He said as he walked away from her. 

Thankfully, no one was around to hear their conversation. Once Adrien had walked out the school entrance, he felt a tug on his arm and turned around to see Lila again. He groaned as he pulled his arm away from her which resulted in him pulling it back harder. 

"Adrien, what's wrong with you?" She cried. "Do you not love me anymore?" 

Before Adrien could respond, he looked around to see people staring at him. Most of them were his classmates, including Alya and Nino. He knew if he didn't make this relationship believable, Lila would go after Marinette again. But of course, he decided to play her game too.

"It's not that Lila. I'm just really upset that I won't be able to go the Jagged Stone concert this Saturday." He sighed.

"What?" Lila asked surprised.

"Yeah... Apparently, his concert is sold out." He said. 

Alya and Nino heard the conversation between the two and walked up to them. "Hey guys, everything alright?" 

"Uh-" 

Lila was cut off by Adrien. "Not really. I was hoping to go to the Jagged Stone concert with Lila for our first date but the tickets were sold out. Sorry, Lila." He frowned.

"Hey, don't look so sad dude! Lucky for you, you happen to have a girlfriend who knows Jagged Stone." Nino smiled as he placed an arm around Adrien's shoulder. 

"Yeah! Lila, you could totally get Adrien into the concert if you just talk to Jagged. I mean, you did save his kitten after all!" Alya said.

Adrien was trying his best to suppress a smile as he looked up at Lila again. Her face showed a nervous expression. She tried to speak but no words could come out. Adrien smirked when he realized he had caught her in a standstill. He watched as she tried to lie her way out of this.

"I.. I wouldn't want to bother him" She lied. "He's already so busy with his concert."

Alya placed a hand on her shoulder, “I doubt you would. You saved his kitten so he would most likely give you backstage passes if you asked him.” She winked. 

Lila looked over at Adrien who was smirking at her. She shot a glare at him and smiled sweetly at Alya. “I’ll try and see if I can get in touch with him.” 

Nino gave a thumbs up to his best friend while Alya talked with Lila about the concert. Adrien’s car arrived and he got in as his driver took him home. 

Once he got home, he immediately went up to his room and locked his door. Plagg flew out of his shirt to grab a piece of camembert from the cabinet. “Oh no, you had cheese just a few minutes ago. We’re going to see Marinette.” He said.

”No! No!” Plagg shouted as he was sucked into the ring while Adrien transformed into Chat Noir. Afterwards, he jumped out his window and made his way to Marinette’s house.

***

Marinette heard something land on her roof and looked up at her skylight to see black. She looked over at Tikki and told her to stay down as she went through her skylight and up to her balcony to find Chat Noir sitting on her lounge chair. 

“Evening, purrincess.” He purred.

She smiled lightly at him. “Hey, didn’t expect you here tonight.” Well to be honest, she was actually expecting him but she couldn’t let him know that.

”We said we’d make this our thing, remember?” He said as he took her hand in his and made her sit on the lounge chair with him. She was thankful that it had already gotten dark, that way Chat wouldn’t have to see her blush. 

“So purrincess, how was school? Anything interesting happened?” He smiled.

He saw the light die in her eyes as she frowned at the question. He furrowed his eyebrows at her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Princess?” 

Marinette felt a tear stream down her face and let out a small laugh. “This is so stupid...”

”Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked her. 

“My best friend pushed me too far... accusing me of jealousy... just because I like this boy... it’s so stupid. All of it...” She cried. 

“Hey... I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”

”Actually, I’m not even mad about that anymore.. it’s the fact she doesn’t believe anything I say about...” she stopped herself from saying Lila. The last thing she wanted was to lose Chat Noir. “...this girl at my school.”

Chat Noir already knew who she was talking about. He furrowed his eyebrows at her and took her hand in his as he placed a soft kiss on top. 

Marinette would usually pull her hand away. But the gesture was sweet and comforting, it made her feel relaxed. A slight blush crept on her cheeks and she was glad Chat didn’t notice it. 

Marinette sighed as she looked over at him and smiled, “thank you for always listening.” 

He winked at her, “anytime, Purrincess.”

Marinette averted her eyes, “um... if it’s okay with you... do you mind... staying with me a little while longer?”

Chat Noir smiled, a small blush painted underneath his mask that he was glad she couldn’t see. “Sure.” He said as he pulled her close to him. 

“W-What are you d-doing?” Her face was red all over she thought it would explode.

He smiled as he let her lay down beside him with her head over his chest. His arm rested on the side of her body as he took his other hand and rested it on his stomach. He leaned his head on top of hers and smiled. “Comfortable?”

She blushed and nodded her head. 

“Thank you, Chat...”

”Anything for you, purrincess.” 


	9. Betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Alya alright? I just love reading/writing Alya salt for the angst.

“Nice seeing you here, m’lady.” Chat Noir smiled as he placed a small kiss to her hand.

Ladybug smiles, “great seeing you too, Kitty.”

He raised a brow at her and smirked, “no resistance? No “I’m in love with another boy” lecture?”

She shakes her head at him. “How about we finish up patrol first then we can talk?” 

“Sounds good to me. Eiffel Tower?” 

She nods at him and went to patrol on one side of Paris while Chat Noir went the other way. 

Their patrol was pretty quick. There wasn’t much going on tonight so they met up at the Eiffel Tower like they agreed and sat on the top together as they looked over the city. 

“So, tell me m’lady, what’s on your mind tonight?” He asked her.

She smiled at him, “what do you mean?” 

“Well, you don’t seem like your usual self.” He said. “You’re not resisting my flirtatious acts. You’re not giving me that ‘in love with another boy’ lecture. Something happen bugaboo?” 

She averted her eyes as she looked back at the city. She hugged her knees together as she rested her chin on them. “Sorry, Chat. It’s been a rough few days for me.” 

“You wanna talk about it?”

She raised an eyebrow at him, reminding him about the fact that they can’t know anything about their civilian life.

He raised his hands up, “you don’t have to tell me in full detail. You can just keep it vague.” 

She sighed as she looked back at the city again and started:

”I don’t know... I just feel so... betrayed. I feel like I can’t trust anyone anymore.” 

“Meowch.” He said as he pretended to sound hurt.

”Except for you, of course.” She chuckled. “There’s this girl in my class. She.. She ended up turning everyone against me. Including my best friend.” 

“That’s awful.” Chat said furrowing his eyebrows at Ladybug.

”And the boy I like.. he...” She choked back a few tears. She was Ladybug. She wasn’t supposed to cry. She was strong.

Chat placed a hand on her back which made her look at him. “It’s okay.”

”Chat...”

”You don’t always have to put up a strong front. Even heroes are allowed to cry.” He smiled.

She felt a few tears stream down her cheek as she covered her hands with her face. Chat pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back trying to soothe the spotted heroine.

“Thank you, Chat Noir...” She whispered.

”I’ll always be here for you, m’lady.”

* * *

Marinette woke up with a smile on her face. She felt happy these past few days and it was all thanks to Chat Noir. His nightly visits really put her at ease and took away the stress from school. 

“You look a lot more happy.” Tikki smiled at her owner. 

She nodded at the Kwami, “I really do. It feels good to talk about my problems at school with someone. I just hope I'm not annoying him."

”Definitely not. He seems to like coming over.” She said.

”Most likely because of the food.” Marinette chuckled.

”Or mainly because of you.” Tikki smiled.

Marinette’s eyes went wide and she let out a smile as her face turned a shade of red. She’ll admit that she really did like having Chat Noir around and it definitely changed her view on him a bit. 

“You were right when you said there’s some things I haven’t learned about him.” She smiled as she went and got ready for school.

Even if Marinette was happy, Tikki knew it was only a matter of time before she got hurt again...

* * *

Adrien got out of his car and saw Marinette walking across the street on her way to school. He smiled as he ran up to her and greeted her. 

"Good morning, Marinette." He smiled.

Marinette jumped in surprise and turned to look over at Adrien. She gave a light smile, "good morning, Adrien. How was your weekend?"

"Meh, mostly photo shoots and fencing. Get this, I won at least 4 matches against Kagami!" He smiled.

"Really? That's awesome! You must be at the top of your game lately." She averted her eyes. She didn't want to say it but she said it anyway. "Probably because of Lila, right?"

"Well, it's more like my _Marinette _lucky charm got me to win those matches." He said as he took out the lucky charm bracelet she had given him when they were practicing for the gaming tournament. This made her smile happily as she took out his own lucky charm bracelet he gave her for her birthday and held it in front of him.

"You still have it." He smiled.

"Of course." She said as she placed it around her wrist. "Oh yeah, how did Kagami react when she found out the news?" 

Adrien did not want to remember how Kagami had reacted when he told her about him and Lila. The _real truth _between him and Lila. He remembered having to watch out for any akumas that day because of the girl's temper. 

Kagami was a very noble person raised within a noble family so of course, it was no surprise to Adrien that Kagami really hated liars. She was very aggressive that day when Adrien had told her the deal he made with Lila. He could barely keep up with their matches considering how mad she was. I wouldn't even blame her. She hurt her friend and knowing Kagami, she takes friends pretty serious. 

"Wow..." Marinette said. "I can't imagine the matches you went through." She said.

Adrien let out a laugh, "yeah, I should start wearing extra gear when Kagami's angry."

This put a smile on Marinette's face which didn't last very long due to _someone_ interrupting their conversation. 

"Adrien, Marinette. Good morning." A sickeningly sweet voice greeted.

Marinette narrowed her eyes over at Lila as she locked arms with Adrien and leaned her head against him. "What were you two talking about, Marinette? As Adrien's _girlfriend, _I want to know everything about him."

"None of your business." She hissed as she looked over at Adrien with furrowed brows. "Bye, Adrien." And with that, she started making her way to class. Adrien pulled his arm away from her and turned to narrow his eyes at her threateningly.

"What's wrong, Adrien?" She asked innocently.

Adrien gritted his teeth, "you _promised _you wouldn't hurt Marinette."

"I _didn't _hurt Marinette. I simply told her the truth about us." Lila smirked.

"There's nothing real between us and there never will be. You're a liar Lila and you'll always be one." He said angrily as he started making his way to class. He's never been so angry before. He was also one that never showed his anger in public knowing what it'll do to his Father's reputation. Once he walked into class, he looked up at the back row to see Marinette happily scribbling in her sketchbook like she was in her own little world. He saw how her face lit up when she had a new idea and smiled softly at her as he made his way up to her seat.

"Hey, Marinette." He greeted causing her to jump up in surprise.

"Adrien," she sighed in relief, "what's up?"

He sat beside her on her desk, "just wanted to apologize about Lila earlier, this new disease is really taking a toll on her."

Marinette blinked at him surprised, "new... disease?" 

Adrien nodded his head at her, "yeah, she often says things out of the ordinary apparently." 

Marinette let out a small chuckle as Adrien smiled over at her. It felt good to see her smile again. 

"It's fine, Adrien." She smiled as she went back to scribbling in her sketchbook. Adrien rested his chin on one hand as he watched her happily come up with a new idea for a design. This didn't go unnoticed by Marinette as she looked over at Adrien and gave him a questioning smile. "Everything alright?"

Adrien didn't realize he was gazing at her for a long while. He shook his head as his face turned a shade of red and smiled embarrassingly at her. "Y-Yeah! It's fine." He chuckled.

"Hey, Marinette." They heard a voice call out to her as they looked over to see Alya walking up to them. Marinette averted her eyes as she went back to scribbling in her sketchbook. 

"Hey..." She said sadly. 

Adrien looked over at the midnight haired girl with furrowed eyebrows. He knew that Marinette and Alya weren't on the best of terms right now. She was still upset with how Alya had accused her of being jealous of Lila. 

"Yeah... so... About the concert Saturday. Nino and I decided we'd give the last ticket to Lila." Alya said.

This made Marinette and Adrien look up at the girl in shock - mostly Marinette.

"What!? Alya, I got us those tickets! We agreed that it would be the four of us going to Jagged's concert this Saturday!" Marinette shouted.

Alya sighed as she shook her head over at Marinette. "Girl, come on, Adrien was really bummed out that he couldn't even take Lila to the concert for their first date. Lila wasn't able to even get a VIP pass from Jagged considering he was so busy with the concert. So we figured we'd help these two lovebirds out and we know how willing you are to help people out."

Marinette's hands shook in both pain and anger. She couldn't believe this. She couldn't believe any of it. Was that what her friends thought about her? Someone just willingly able to let something go and forgive them so easily? Someone with no backbone? Alya knew... Alya knew that she liked Adrien even before Lila did. Had she felt no sympathy for her? She felt tears form in the corner of her eyes. 

"Come on, girl. You really gotta get over this jea-"

"SHUT UP!" Marinette snapped causing Adrien and Alya to jump in surprise. Both of them have never seen her so angry before. "I can't believe you would do something like this without even asking me! NO ALYA, I am NOT okay with the fact that you decided to give someone else my ticket! Especially when that someone is a LIAR!" She shouted. 

"Marinette! How could you say something like that!? I thought-"

"You thought!! YOU THOUGHT!! But have you ever bothered asking!? No! You didn't! Because you just assumed that I'd be okay with it. Did you ever bother asking how I felt moving to the back of the class? How I felt when you accused me of being jealous? How I'd feel if you gave away my ticket to someone else!? No, you never bothered!" She shouted angrily, more tears began to stream down her face. "Why do you think Lila wasn't able to get a VIP pass? Because she doesn't even know Jagged Stone! He's never even written a song about her!" 

"Of course he has! Jagged is just busy with his concert-"

"No, he's not." Marinette cut her off. "Everything for his concert was already prepared. Alya, I've MET the guy, I know him personally! I literally designed his album cover for him!" 

"Then since _you _know him personally. Why don't you ask _him _for a VIP pass?" Alya asked her as she crossed her arms at the midnight haired girl. 

Adrien stared at Alya in shock. He couldn't believe this either. Alya knew Marinette longer than Lila, Alya knew about all of Marinette's achievements and connections and here she was accusing Marinette of jealousy. The brunette had no sympathy for how her best friend felt. Not one bit of it showed on her face. He looked over at Marinette, a look of shock, hurt, anger and most of all, betrayal was written all over her face. Adrien watched as she packed away her stuff, got up from her desk and left the classroom without another word. 

Adrien looked up at Alya angrily, "how could you do that to her, Alya? Marinette got us those concert tickets!"

Alya looked over at Adrien in disbelief, "are you serious, Adrien? She was literally accusing your girlfriend of lying! She's just jealous because her crush was taken by someone else." 

Adrien's eyes widened in shock. Alya didn't seem to notice or care that she just blurted out her best friend's feelings to her crush. 

_Marinette... Marinette likes me? _He thought to himself. 

He snapped out his thoughts when Alya spoke, "anyways, we all agreed to meet up at the same time so-"

"I'm not going." He said coldly.

"What? But you just said you were bummed out that you couldn't take Lila-" 

He cut her off, "I don't care what I said. You hurt Marinette. You _betrayed _her. She got us those concert tickets for all four of us and you just gave it away to someone else. How could you even do that your best friend, Alya? How could you not have any sympathy towards her?" 

Alya knitted her eyebrows at the boy angrily. "Because the way she's been treating Lila is unfair! She doesn't even have proof that she's lying!" 

"Do _you _have proof that she isn't!?" He shouted leaving Alya speechless. She looked down at the ground in shame. 

"I didn't think so." He said as he picked up his bag and started to make his way to the door. He took one last look at Alya who still stood at the back row. "How about double checking _your _facts for once." And with that, he walked out the door to go after Marinette. 


	10. Nino

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nino is a good boy.  
ALSO, CHAT BLANC??? HOLY CRAP I CRIED.  
Also, I've had writers block I'm sorry.

Adrien stormed out of the class to run after Marinette but was soon stopped by someone. 

"Yo, Adrien, everything okay?"

He turned to look at the person in front of him who just so happened to be his best friend - Nino. Should he even call him that? After what him and Alya did to Marinette? He knitted his eyebrows at him angrily and clenched his fists. Nino may have been a few inches taller than him but Adrien was much scarier when he was angry. He would have to thank Plagg for toughening him up a bit. 

"No, I'm not okay, Nino. How could you and Alya agree to just give away Marinette's ticket like that!? She got us those tickets and you're just gonna treat her that way!?" He shouted angrily but soon calmed himself down. He was _not _going to be akumatized, not when Marinette was also at the risk of being akumatized.

Nino just blinked over at his best friend. "I- Adrien-"

"Nino, you've known Marinette longer than I have. You said she's like a sister to you!"

"She is-"

"But how could you just hurt her like that?" 

"Adrien!" Nino shouted, shutting the blonde model up. He let out a sigh as he looked up at Adrien with guilt in his eyes. "Dude, I never agreed to give away Marinette's ticket to Lila."

It was Adrien's turn to blink at him in shock. "W-What? But Alya said-"

He sighed, "Dude, I literally argued with her last night about the same thing. I told her it's not right to give away Marinette's ticket like that especially since she got them for us. Then she argued about how you were bummed that Lila couldn't come so you guys can have your first date." He adjusted his glasses a bit then looked over at Alya in the classroom sitting at their desk. She was looking down at her phone, most likely checking the Ladyblog. "It still didn't feel right to me - giving Marinette's ticket away like that. I love her like a sister dude and I would _never _do something like that."

Adrien smiled at his best friend. Despite all of Lila's lies, all of her attempts to turn the class on Marinette, Nino still chose to stick by their Everyday Ladybug. "Nino, I'm gonna tell you something but you have to promise to keep it a secret. Okay?"

Nino's eyes widened at the blonde as he nodded at him. 

They both left towards the locker rooms then into the boy's restroom. Adrien took a look around and checked each of the stalls to make sure no one was listening in on them. The last thing he needed was people to start spreading around the conversation they were about to have. 

"Must be some huge secret for you to do a surveillance check on the whole restroom." Nino chuckled. "You gonna tell me you're Chat Noir or something?"

Adrien's eyes widened and sighed as his face fell, as he let out a small smile. Unfortunately for Nino, that _wasn't _the secret Adrien would be telling him anytime soon. He let out a sigh as he looked over at his best friend, "Okay, Nino, about Lila and I..."

Nino had listened, not once taking his eyes off his best friend, or even bothering to check his ringing phone that was most likely Alya calling him, what Adrien had told him was _big. _It was _news. _And it was something that would surely rile the class up, after all, he was feeling angry himself. Not just at Lila, but at him as well. had he really believed all those lies she told him? That she would introduce him or even mention him to one of Hollywood's biggest directors? 

Nino felt anger, disappointed, betrayed, but most of all... he felt guilty. He chose to believe a stranger over someone who he's known for years. Someone who was always there for the class. Someone who listened to his music and helped him plan his dates with Alya. He _betrayed _Marinette. 

"Dude, I... I really messed up, didn't I?" He said sadly. 

Adrien placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled up at his best friend, "it's not too late to apologize to her and make things right. She may not forgive you easily, but it'll definitely patch a few things up."

Nino smiled as he nodded over at him, "you're right dude, how about we go do that now?"

Before Adrien could answer, the bell rang for their first class. 

"Or... during lunch. She's most likely home anyway, right?" Nino smiled.

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows worriedly, he wanted to check up on her now and make sure she was okay. He didn't want to leave her alone that long, not when she's at the risk of being akumatized. He felt a hand on his shoulder causing him to look over at Nino. "I'm sure Marinette won't get akumatized. She is our everyday Ladybug." 

Adrien gave him a small smile and nodded his head at him as they both started making their way to class together. He could only hope she wouldn't get akumatized when they start class.

* * *

"Breathe in... breathe out."

Marinette felt herself relax as she slowly breathed in and out. The smell of incense surrounding her and the light ringing of the gong put her at a relaxed state. Her eyes were closed, her legs crossed with her hands resting on her knees. She took another deep breath and slowly let it out. She thought of her dream to become a world famous designer like her idol - Gabriel Agreste. She thought of her hero persona - Ladybug. Ladybug... When she puts on the mask. She is brave. She is calm and collected. She has the power of creation. She defeats villains because she always has a solution. 

_Not for everything._

_**Stop.** _

_The Lila solution?_

** _Shut up._ **

_How do you expect people to believe you didn't steal the test answers? Where's your solution for that?_

** _Stop it. _ **

_Even your parents don't believe you. _

** _I..._ **

_You're Ladybug? Where's your solution for everything now?_

"Marinette."

The midnight haired girl opened her eyes again as she looked up at Master Fu sitting in front of her. Her kwami floated beside her and gave a worried look.

"Your breathing was off. You had a very bothered expression on your face. I can only assume you were overthinking about something again." Master Fu said.

"I... Well, yeah. I... I was sorta overthinking something." She sighed as she looked down at ground. 

Master Fu sighed at her as he looked up, "I suppose it has something to do with your best friend?" 

Marinette nodded her head slowly at him.

He gave her a light smile as he poured her some tea. She took the cup into her hands and took a small sip. Afterwards, she put the cup down and looked over at Tikki with furrowed brows, "I'm sorry, Tikki."

Tikki gave her owner a reassuring smile as she went over to her and hugged her cheek. "You don't have to apologize Marinette. I'm the one who should be sorry. I should've considered your feelings more instead of worrying about whether you'd get akumatized." 

Marinette smiled at her, "it's okay, Tikki." She let out a breath and looked up at Master Fu. "Thank you for the meditation, Master. I really appreciate it." She got up and gathered her stuff.

Before she left, Master Fu stopped her. "Marinette."

She turned around to look at him. "Friendship is as delicate as glass, once broken it can be fixed but there will always be cracks." 

Marinette lightly smiled at him, understanding what he meant. "Thank you, Master..." And with that, she left Master Fu's place and made her way back to school. 

* * *

Adrien walked to the Dupain-Cheng's bakery alone. Sadly, Nino wasn't able to follow him because Alya had dragged him to have lunch with her and Lila. He sighed as he stopped in front of the bakery and looked through the glass to see Sabine tending to customers while Tom was putting some fresh croissants into the glass display. 

"Adrien?"

His eyes widened as he turned around to see Marinette staring at him with a confused look. "What are you... doing here? Shouldn't you be going home for lunch?" 

He let out a nervous chuckle as he told Marinette how he lied to Nathalie about staying back for lunch because of a huge project they had for their next class. Marinette simply blinked at him and let out a laugh. A genuine laugh. She wiped a tear away and looked up at Adrien with a small smile. "So if you're not having lunch at home, I'm assuming you're going to have lunch at school?" She asked him.

"Well, no actually..." He chuckled.

"Then have lunch with me." She smiled.

"Really?" He asked.

She nodded her head at him, "I'm sure my dad would love to see you again." She said as she opened up the bakery and he followed behind her. 

As soon as they walked in, her parents greeted her with a smile. They noticed Adrien behind her and the two parents looked at each and smirked. Adrien blinked at them confused while Marinette tried to hide the blush on her face. "Mama, Papa. Adrien will be having lunch with us, is that okay?" She asked, trying to ignore her parents smirks and winks at her. 

"Oh, it's fine with us." Tom smiled.

"Great..." Marinette said through gritted teeth as she lead Adrien up to their dining room. 

Her mom had baked a chicken pot pie and placed it on the table. The thing about the pot pie was that... it was shaped into a heart? Marinette's eyes widened at the pie as she glared up at her mom with a blush on her face. Meanwhile, Adrien was having Weredad flashbacks, remembering how the heart shape souffle deflated after rejecting Marinette that day as Chat Noir. 

"Adrien, everything okay?"

He looked over at Marinette and let out a nervous chuckle, "y-yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that."

She smiled over at him as she handed him some chicken pot pie and took some herself. Her parents left them alone to eat and went back down to tend to customers in the bakery. 

The two teenagers sat down together in silence. An awkward tension filling the room. Adrien scratched his head nervously as he looked down at the chicken pot pie in front of him. He then looked over at Marinette without turning his head to her. He noticed her playing with her food, a sad expression all over her face. He furrowed his eyebrows at her worriedly as he turned to her.

"Marinette?"

He saw her jump when he called out to her, "y-yes, Adrien?"

"Are you upset with Alya?" He mentally smacked himself in the face. That was a dumb question to ask. Of course she would be upset with Alya. Her _supposed _best friend gave away her ticket, the ticket she got for them, to Lila. To Adrien's surprise, Marinette let out a small laugh and looked back down at her chicken pot pie.

"Sorry... I was just thinking... How stupid I am to even trust her. I mean... she doesn't even trust me with Lila. It's like... only when she needs something, she'll run to me." She furrowed her eyebrows down at her plate, "was she really my friend at all?" She whispered. 

Adrien, however, was able to hear what she said pretty well. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure she is your friend. People just like hearing interesting things people have to say. The same for Alya. She'll realize her mistake soon enough, I promise." Adrien said as he gave her a reassuring smile.

Marinette gave him a small smile, "thank you, Adrien. You should... probably head back to school." 

"You're not coming?" He asked sadly. 

"No... I'm too upset with Alya to even go." She said sadly.

He furrowed his eyebrows at her as he let out a small smile, "okay... I'll drop you off the notes after school."

"Thank you." She smiled as she walked downstairs with him and bid him one last goodbye before he went back to school. He saw Lila waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs and shot her a glare as he walked past her and made his way up the stairs and on his way to class with her trailing behind him. He looked over to the side to see Alya and Nino arguing with each other. He then saw Alya throw something onto the ground and walk away from him. Once Alya walked away completely, he made his was to his best friend. 

"Nino, what happened?"

The DJ sighed as he tilted his cap, "Alya and I broke up..."


End file.
